1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a specially designed toilet seat that includes a lower base groove that fits snugly on a rigid container, such as a five gallon bucket, and including a flexible waste receiving and storage container and separate sealable lid. With the use of the toilet seat, flexible waste container, and sealable lid, a five gallon bucket can serve as a portable waste storage container.
2. Description of Related Art
Most small boats anywhere from 15 to 25 feet do not have a conventional "head" or toilet facility as found in much larger boats. Often, one can be in a small boat far out to sea and is forced to go to the bathroom in the water surrounding the boat. This can often be awkward for women, even if urinating, and can be embarrassing. Because of the small size of the boat, however, installing a traditional "head" is not feasible. Sometimes it is even required to come back to shore so that someone can use an available bathroom facility, interrupting the purpose of the boating outing. Most boats, however, regardless of size, include buckets that are used for various tasks of universal utility and are stored either in the boat in a front cuddy compartment or under a steering console or throttle console.
In many instances, human waste product cannot simply be dumped overboard, but must be stored and transported until such time as the waste can be properly disposed of.
In other applications, such as in natural disasters and other emergency situations, portable toilets can be in great demand. The contents of portable toilets pose serious health risks if not properly handled and disposed of.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,516 to Davison, discloses a utility seat that includes a plastic bag used to line a bucket to which a toilet seat is attached. The toilet seat includes a closable center plug that has an external o-ring to seal against the inner rim of the toilet seat to seal-in the contents of the bucket. However, the device of Davison must have the toilet seat and center plug attached to the bucket at all times to seal the bucket. When the bucket becomes full, the toilet seat and plug must remain in place to seal the bucket, or the contents of the bucket must be transferred to another container.